Rivet Flexibility and Load Diffusion: How Strength and Stiffness of Rivets Affect the Structure, with a Discussion of the Relative Efficiency of Rivets and Spot Welds Available to Purchase

THE problem of load diffusion from a boom into a stiffened sheet structure has been considered by many writers. The solutions obtained lead to an infinite shear stress at a point at the free edge of the sheet adjacent to the boom. They are therefore of little practical value in determining the necessary strength of the boom‐to‐sheet connexion.